Like a Butterfly

Like most critters, butterflies are not indifferent to the promptings of l’amour. It is not uncommon to see a pair flopping through the air, hooked together in passion’s embrace. In fact, any naturalist who has ever led small children on a nature walk during the warm parts of the year will tell you that butterflies seem to enjoy an audience. They are particularly fond of performing for church groups.

But I digress.

Apparently Variegated Fritillaries (Euptoieta claudia) are some of the most flagrant delicto-ers out there. If you search the internet for Variegated Fritillary courtship, you will be rewarded with a wealth of photos and videos.

They are not shy, which is an odd thing since Euptoieta supposedly means easily scared. What that says about Claudia, I don’t know.[1]

This is a female Variegated Fritillary nectaring at a Knapweed, minding her own business.

Female Variegated Fritillary

She is soon joined by a male, who is also intent on minding her business.

The lady objects.

Note her posture with the abdomen raised. I did not know if that was a “come hither” signal, or a “get lost” signal. Neither did the male butterfly it would seem. Still that weird green monkey-faced bit at the tip of her abdomen didn’t seem alluring—but I’m no butterfly. I found a terrific site on the internet called simply “learn about Butterflies” by a gentleman in the United Kingdom named Adrian Hoskins. In his description of the Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines), he has a great photo of a female “raising her abdomen as a rejection signal.”[2]

2 Responses

Davidsaid:

JB – It some species (usually smaller than the Variegated), the female not only raises her abdomen but also rapidly flutters her wings in a short-arc oscillation. This is called a “rejection dance”. It’s very effective and the male generally leaves pronto without spending any more energy. The dance indicates she’s already mated.